Big thanks to Steve for sending this bottle my way. Served in a SAVOR wine glass.

Pours a dark reddish-copper color with a thin off-white head and a bit of lacing. The nose carries some amber and brown malt. Overall, quite malty for an amber. Some piney and resinous hops come along, plus a bit of citrus. Flavor loses those hops, and is a bit earthy and malty all at once. Not too much sweetness; more generic malt flavor. Medium body with moderate bitterness through the finish. A bit disappointing for a Lawson's brew.

Steve's Back Yard Red Ale has a body that a mix of dark brown and ruby, with a thick tan head that leaves adequate lacing.

The aroma has a dash of citrus from the hops, followed by a lot of malt.

Back Yard Red is definitely skewed toward the malty side of this style. The hops add just a touch of bitterness with citrus flavors that are barely discernible. The malt does all the heavy lifting, with a hint of toasted flavors, caramel and toffee. There is also a little bit of brown, nutty malt. A hint of generic fruit from the ale yeast lingers in the background.

Moderate body with big, almost creamy carbonation.

Back Yard red is a toasty, malty red ale that is solid but not spectacular.

Pours a muddled dark amber brown with a moderate off white head and some light lacing. Aroma is intensely malty with some light citrus hops. Bland malt body with very light hops and some grassy notes in the finish. Medium, chewy body with moderate carbonation. Welp, it's almost Nugget Nectar time of the year I guess...

Malty flavor - a bit grainy with a little roasted character blending with a trace of citrusy hops. Fairly dry with just a bit of sweet biscuit coming in toward the end, finishing with a dry herbal bitterness.

Medium to light mouthfeel. Carbonation is a bit prickly and seems a little heavy compared to the body.

Appearance is dark red, one finger of off-white head to it. Its` nose has nuts, fruit, some pine, pretty nice aroma. For the taste, there is malts, earthy hops, a fair amount of sweetness. This is a good beer, with a taste which goes well with most foods. Mouthfeel is medium, crisp finish. A couple of these are easy to drink, and with a very reasonable abv. Nothing special, but a good beer nonetheless.

Bomber poured into a matching Lawson's snifter. The brew appears an amber color with an off-white cap composed of big bubbles. A swirl revives a yellowish tan cap. Some spotty lace sticks to the glass.

The aroma is fruity to floral with hops with a slight tingle of fruity alcohol as well. It gets herbal and slightly dank as it warms up. This is surprisngly hoppy in the nose but very enjoyable.

The taste is fruity and floral with some herbal to dank hop bitterness. A light caramel and toffee to bready grain sweetness rests underneath. Overall a strong and enjoyable balance of flavors.

This is a medium bodied brew with a modest amount of carbonation. A pleasantly hoppy red that borders on being more "red ipa" than what you might expect. Very enjoyable.

Poured from a 22 oz bomber into a large snifter.
Pours a deep dark hazy red with one finger of off white bubbly head.
Smells very hoppy, more than I was expecting for a red ale.
Taste is very balanced, some good hop bitterness, but matched very well with a toffee note from the solid malt backbone.
Finishes very clean, some bitterness that fades to a very clean mouth, you want more.
This is one of the most consistent across the board beers I've had in a while.

Mostly clear deep chestnut color with a little creaminess on top that shrinks to a patchy ring. Moderately hoppy nose...sort of dark and piney with a bit of tea, nuts, and malt to balance. Nice, balanced hoppy flavor: zesty, juicy citrus, increasing pine needle bitterness, some caramel malt mixes well with the "darker" hop character. Medium bodied and solidly bitter. I like this more and more as I drink it...

O- I'm not overly a huge fan of red ales, but this is definitely a very nice hoppy offering of the style. While I've never had the old recipe, this definitely seems to be an improvement and is better then the ratings would suggest. Don't expect to be blown away as with some of Lawson's IPAs, but this is definitely worth trying.

Smell - The smell is balanced between the hops and malts. Smells of toffee and caramel for the malt. A nice dose of earthy hops.

Taste- Very good. One of the better red ales that I have had. Very earthy hop flavors, pine, with subtle hints of the toffee and caramel. I can also taste notes of roasted nuts. The aftertaste even had a hint of tropical fruits, especially pineapple.

Mouthfeel- Balanced carbonation. Easy to drink. Has a nice bitter snap that is left in the mouth.

Overall - A very good red ale offering from Lawson's. I still prefer Lagunita's Mongo Red Ale, but nonetheless, a great beer.

22 oz bottle poured into a Spiegelau glass. Purchased at the Warren Store on 11/1. Consumed on 11/17. Written from notes.

A - Color of tea or dark plum. Full finger of of light beige head. Quickly dissipates. Distinct lines of carbonation. Splotchy lacing. No transparency. First pour no sediment. Second pour white heavy sediment which actually changed complection of beer to a muddy brown color. Would have given beer at least a 4.5 in appearance off first pour...

Last review for Steve's Back Yard Red Ale was from March 2012, and this is a fresh bottle purchased 9/13/13 from the new recipe "Revved up and ready to go" according to Lawson's recent blog. I have not tried the old recipe, so I don't have a baseline for the original recipe.

One finger off white head atop the deep ruby hued ale, nice lacing in the Lawson's tulip.
Not opaque but quite dark.

Aroma is relatively muted but pleasant, roasted nuts and toffee,slight herbal nose with hops fitting squarely into the mix.

Taste is rich,full and complex, starting out with an interesting and flavorful nutty, toffee like malt splash, then as it washes down the hops take over seemingly in two stages in a sort of creamy lightly spicy tobacco and leather finish. The flavors are reminiscent of Maine Beer Company's Zoe,another quality hoppy red ale made in small batches.Flavor improves as it warms adding complexity.

Mouthfeel also a big plus: medium and creamy smooth, glides over the palate gracefully, delivering the flavors in a velvety manner. I wouldn't consider this to have an overly dry finish, yet it is a very pleasant finish.

Overall, a really nicely crafted hoppy Red Ale by Sean Lawson, who has a knack for creating some cutting edge brews. I recommend trying this one as it has lots to offer in the way of complexity and enjoyable drinkability, thumbs up.